Frequently Asked Questions

FAQ

FRAME AUTHENTICITY

All of our Frames (Eyeglass and Sunglass) and Contact Lenses are 100% Authentic. See Exchange Policy for details

HOW TO BUY GLASSES ONLINE

There are two basic components to eyeglasses and sunglasses: the frame and the lens. To purchase glasses online from Cheaperpeepers.com, you need only to select a frame, add a prescription lens, and then check out. We supply guidance for each step of the process to ensure that you have the information you need to select the proper frames and eyeglass lenses. Every order is carefully reviewed by a Licensed Optician to ensure the appropriate lens choice.

The first step in buying eyewear is to choose the style that appeals to you. What material do you prefer— plastic or metal? What design best fits your face— full frame, half frame, or rimless frame? What shape do you prefer— oval, rectangular, round, cat eye, aviator? Which colors complement your skin tone? Our site will guide you through this process.

For many of us, the most important aspect of choosing eyeglass frames is how we look wearing them. Determining your face shape and your color base takes the guesswork out of frame selection. With that information, you can choose the frame styles and colors that would look best on you. Click on CHOOSING THE RIGHT FRAME for more information.

If you have questions please email us at drsmay@ourfamilyeyecare.com.

BEST LENSES FOR MY FRAMES

After you select a frame, the ADD A LENS option will guide you through a step-by-step lens selection process. At each step, we have provided information about lenses and materials. You may then choose the materials and options that are best suited for your lifestyle and vision.

The most popular types of lenses prescribed today are listed below.

Available lens styles, materials, and lens options:

Plano: Non-prescription, optical-quality lenses. Available in a wide variety of materials. Available in clear, photochromic and polarized.

Single Vision: This lens has the same optical focal point or correction over the entire area of the lens. Available in a wide variety of materials. Available in clear, photochromic, and polarized.Progressive: A progressive lens has a graduated prescription, starting at your full distance prescription and graduating down to the bottom portion of the lens to your full near prescription. Available in a wide variety of materials. Available in clear, photochromic, and polarized.Computer: This lens has a graduated prescription, starting at your mid-range prescription and graduating down to the bottom portion of the lens to your full near prescription. Available in plastic or polycarbonate materials. Available in clear. Tint: Available in a wide variety of colors, solid or in a gradient. Tint is useful for light sensitivity, low vision, migraines, or fashion needs. Materials that can be tinted are plastic and polycarbonate.Photochromic/Transitions: Lenses that change from light to dark based on UV exposure.Polarized: The number one recommended lens for UV protection. A dark lens, available in a variety of colors, which reduces glare, making it the safest daytime driving lens. Great for sports and water activities.

Materials:
We have several options, depending on your prescription needs.Plastic: A standard material. Tintable. Polycarbonate: A Polycarbonate lense is imact resistant, making it the safest lens, and is recomended for anyone 18 years or younger, or anyone involved in hobbies/sports/work﻿ that puts them in need of a shatter resistant lens.

As your prescription increases, the lenses need to be thicker. If you use standard optical plastic, they tend to look unattractive and the weight of them can become uncomfortable. Anti-Reflective/No Glare: A treatment that reduces glare on the lens, also making it more resistant to scratching, smudges and dirt.Polish: A treatment to make lens edges clear instead of an opaque white.UV protection: This treatment reduces harmful UV rays, which cause damage to your eyes. Comes standard on all of our lenses.

ANTI-REFLECTIVE (NO GLARE)

This treatment allows more light to pass through the lens, giving you a clearer image while reducing strain on your eyes. This is particularly useful for driving or working on a computer. It also allows others to see your eyes more clearly.

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Anti-Reflective (AR) coating reduces the glare that you see, as well as the glare that others can see on your lenses. It improves both your vision and the appearance of the glasses. All of our lenses are treated with an anti-scratch coating, which can significantly extend the life of your lenses. Our Anti-Reflective coating is also hydrophobic, which keeps rain, snow, and fog at bay, and is comparable to more expensive AR treatments.

Each layer is scientifically calculated to block reflected light. As a result, you'll notice a reduction in glare, annoying reflections, and halos around lights. This is a great safety benefit when driving at night. Also, Anti-Reflective coating reduces both internal and external reflections on the lenses themselves, which creates a nicer cosmetic appearance. Internal reflections appear as rings that make lenses look thick. External reflections mask your eyes when someone is looking at you. An AR coating makes eyeglass lenses appear thin or non-existent, and your eyes look more natural.

Anyone on TV or whose photo is taken benefits tremendously from an Anti-Reflective lens, but all eyeglass wearers may benefit from an AR lens. For example, if you have a strong prescription, you can use the AR coating in conjunction with high-index lenses to make your glasses look and feel as thin as possible.
With sunglass lenses, an AR coating is better applied only to the back surface of the lens (the surface nearest the eye). Because sunglass lenses are so dark, the AR can appear “smeary” on the front surface. Treating the back side helps reduce the reflections of light that enter from behind you and bounce off the surface into your eyes. A sunglass lens with AR coating on the back side is much more comfortable than an untreated lens. AR treatments are constantly improving, such that they now also inhibit UV rays from bouncing off the lens into the eye, which could prevent UV damage.

SCRATCH-RESISTANT COATINGS

This hard, clear coating significantly reduces the potential effects of day to day wear on your lenses, meaning you’ll enjoy that just-bought clarity for longer.
No eyeglass lens material — not even glass — is scratch-proof. However, a lens that is treated front and back with a clear, hard coating does become more resistant to scratching, whether it's from dropping your glasses on the floor or occasionally cleaning them with a paper towel. Kids' lenses especially benefit from a scratch-resistant hard coat. All of our lenses are made with scratch-resistant hard coatings.

ULTRAVIOLET TREATMENT

Another beneficial lens treatment is ultraviolet (UV) protection. Just as we use sunscreen to keep the sun's UV rays from harming our skin, UV treatment in eyeglass lenses blocks those same rays from damaging our eyes. Overexposure to ultraviolet light is thought to be a cause of cataracts, retinal damage, and other eye problems. An ultraviolet treatment is simple and quick to apply to most plastic eyeglass lenses, and it does not change the appearance of the lenses at all. The exception is polycarbonate lenses, which don't require anti-UV treatment because it is an inherent property of the material.
This coating prevents UV rays from penetrating the lens, thereby protecting the eye. Your lenses should always have UV protection. All Frameworks Eyewear lenses come standard with (UV) protection.

Obtain a Current Prescription

We need a current vision prescription to fill your order. Eye exams are important for the health of your eyes and are needed at least every two years, sometimes every year, depending on your vision needs. Your prescribing eye doctor will provide you with a copy of your prescription upon request.

Unfortunately, we are unable to use your contact lens prescription since it is formulated much differently than your eyeglass prescription.

How to Read an Eyeglass Prescription

An eyeglass prescription is written in a standardized format with standardized notation so that it may be interpreted worldwide. Please refer to the below example. On the DISTANT section of the prescription, note the numbers -2.00 -1.00 180.

The first number (-2.00) tells us the spherical refractive error (farsightedness or nearsightedness). In this case, because there is a minus sign in front of the 2.00, this patient is nearsighted. A plus sign would indicate farsightedness.

The second number (-1.00) is the astigmatism. If there is no astigmatism, we generally write the letters DS or SPH after the first number. This makes it clear to the optician that we didn’t just forget to write in the astigmatism.

The final number (180) is the direction (AXIS) of the astigmatism. Astigmatism, which means a football-shaped eye, can be measured in any direction around the clock. We use the numbers from 90 to 180 to indicate the orientation of the football shape.

There may be additional numbers in a prescription. For instance, if the basic prescription is followed by a small number with a superscript (1^) it indicates prism correction. There may be more than one set of prism numbers for each eye.

Lastly, there may also be numbers in the ADD area denoting the amount of near reading strength needed for reading (progressive). They usually range from +0.75 to +3.00, depending on age and visual need.

You might also see the letters OD and OS in front of a prescription. These let us know which eye each string of numbers is for. OD (Oculus Dexter) stands for right eye and OS (Oculus Sinister) for left eye, while OU (Oculus Uterque, Oculus Unitas or Oculus Uniter) means both eyes.

There are many different prescription needs; not all prescriptions will have a CYL-cylinder, AXIS, PRISM, or ADD. CYL and AXIS are needed to correct for astigmatism. PRISM is needed to correct for certain eye functions and double vision. ADD is needed to correct for near accommodation.

If you have questions about the accuracy of your prescription, please contact the prescribing eye doctor's office for clarification before placing your order.

Pupilary Distance (PD)

The goal of an eyeglass frame is to comfortably position the optical center of each lens directly in front of the center of your eye. When you provide us with your pupillary distance, or PD, we know exactly where to position the center of the lenses in your new frames. Side to side movement of the frame on your face could move the optical center of the lenses away from this position, but this type of movement is rare. More often, your glasses may move up or down your nose, taking the optical center with them. When this happens, it may become harder for you to see through the lenses, so you must adjust the glasses (push them up on your nose, for example). Small adjustments to the nosepads or temples can help to reduce this movement.

To get the optical center of the lenses directly in front of your eyes, stand in front of a mirror and look straight ahead, with your head in a level position. Put on your glasses and position the center of the lenses directly in front of your eyes. Be sure to look straight ahead when you do this. This shows you the place on your nose where your frames should sit. Adjust your nosepads and/or the temples of your eyeglasses as necessary so that they will naturally come to rest in that spot.

PD stands for Pupil Distance, which is the distance measured in millimeters between your pupils. PD measurements are required to order eyeglass prescriptions accurately.

Measurements taken in person by a trained optical technician are always best; however, thanks to the latest advances in technology, you can still be assured of proper sizing even if you’re unable to come into the store. You can be confident that we are collecting accurate information which is triple checked by a certified technician.

If you are able to provide us with the PD measurement that was taken at your prescribing eye doctor, please add it to the PD field provided on the order form. If you have your monocular measurement (meaning that each eye was measured individually) please add it to the Extra Information field on the order form.

CHOOSING THE RIGHT FRAME
EYEGLASS FRAMES AND FACE SHAPES

Selecting the right frame can be a simple process with the help of a few guidelines:

While most faces are a combination of shapes and angles, there are seven basic face shapes: round, oval, oblong, base-down triangle, base-up triangle, diamond, and square. Here is a further description of these face shapes and which types of frames best complement each shape.

Round

A round face is made up of curved lines. The width and length of the face are in the same proportions, and there are no angles.

Narrow, angular eyeglass frames will make the face appear thinner and longer. A clear bridge that widens the eyes and frames that are wider than they are deep, such as a rectangular shape.

Oval

The oval face is considered to be the ideal shape because of its balanced proportions.

To preserve the oval's natural balance, look for eyeglass frames that are as wide as (or wider than) the broadest part of the face. Walnut-shaped frames that are not too deep or too narrow are also flattering on an oval face shape.

Oblong

The oblong face is longer than it is wide, and has a long, straight cheek line and sometimes a longish nose.

To make an oblong face appear shorter and more balanced, try deeper frames from top to bottom. Decorative or contrasting temples will add width to the face, and a low bridge will shorten the nose.

Base-Down Triangle

The triangular face has a narrow forehead that widens at the cheek and chin areas.

The best frame for the base-down triangle face shape are those which emphasize and add width to the narrow upper third of the face. We recommend heavily accented frames, with color and detailing on the top half, or a cat-eye shape.

Base-Up Triangle

The top third of this face is very wide, while the bottom third is small.

To minimize the width of the top of the face, choose frames that are wider at the bottom. Look for very light colors and materials. Rimless frames (so named because the lenses are attached to the temples by only a few screws) are a great choice thanks to their light, airy effect.

Diamond

Diamond-shaped faces are narrow at the eye line and jawline, and cheekbones are often high and dramatic. This is the rarest face shape.

To highlight the eyes and accent the cheekbones, try frames that have distinctive brow lines, or try rimless frames or oval and cat-eye shapes.

Square

A square face exhibits a strong jawline and a broad forehead, and the width and length are in the same proportions.

To make the square face appear longer and to soften the angles, try narrow frame styles, frames that have more width than depth, and narrow ovals.

COLOR ANALYSIS

Determining your color base will go a long way in helping to choose the right frame color. There are two keys to color analysis:

• All people have either a cool (blue-based) or warm (yellow-based) coloring.

• Everyone looks best in his or her own color base.

Eyewear color should complement personal coloring. The main factors used to determine the best color palette are the colors of the skin, eyes, and hair.

Skin

Skin tone is the prime element in determining coloring. All complexions fall into one of two color bases — cool (blue) or warm (yellow). A cool complexion has blue or pink undertones, and a warm complexion has a "peaches and cream" or yellow cast. Olive skin is considered cool because it is a mixture of blue and yellow. (In the United States, cool, blue-based complexions are more common than the yellow-based warm complexions. About 60 percent of the US population are "cools.")

Eyes

Eye color is usually a secondary element in determining coloring because of the wide range of colors. For example, blue eyes can range from an almost-violet, which is cool, to a pale blue-gray, which is warm. Brown eyes can vary from a light cider shade (warm) to an almost-black (cool).

Once you have determined if you are "warm" or "cool," you can find the eyeglass frame colors that will best suit you. Some examples of frame colors best for warm coloring are: camel, khaki, gold, copper, peach, orange, coral, off-white, fire-engine red, warm blue, and blond tortoise. For cool coloring, the best eyeglass frame hues are black, rose-brown, blue-gray, plum, magenta, pink, jade, blue, and demi-amber (darker) tortoise.

DETERMINING THE PROPER FITCHOOSING MY FRAME SIZE

There are a number of ways to determine the proper size for your new glasses when ordering them from our site.

1. You may use our Virtual Try-On feature to see the true size of our frames on your face.

2. If you are happy with the size of your present eyewear, you may use them as a guide to help choose the proper frame size on our site. Refer to the diagram to read the frame measurements found on the inside temple of your current eyeglasses. (If you are unable to read the size, you may measure your eyeglasses with a ruler marked in millimeters.) We list the measurements of every frame in our catalog so that you can compare them for a close match.

Measurement Ranges.

Please note: The following measurement ranges act as a guideline; however, not all frames will have the exact combination that you may be wearing now. Each person will fit several different sizes.